The universal thumbs up icon for liking things on facebook. A right hand in the thumbs up position, viewed from the outward side of the knuckle, four fingers hidden.

This is a Thumbs Up icon. It is available in PNG and vector. Downloading is free for PNGs up to 100x100px.

Story about the Thumbs up Icon

The thumbs up gesture is largely known as a sign of approval. It is widely recognized as a way of saying “good job” or “congrats on your face” without speaking. However, in other cultures, a thumbs up signal may mean something else. In parts of West Africa, Iran, and Greece, the sign is considered a taboo as it is perceived to express an insulting remark. In some sports, the gesture conveys rules of the game. In basketball, two thumbs up in the air calls for a jump ball, while in baseball, a thumbs up jerked over the shoulder indicates “out.” And for hitchhikers, stretching one’s arm out with a thumbs up gesture is the solution to getting a ride.

No one really knows how or when the sign originally came about, but one of its early uses was in the Late Middle Ages, where archers held out a thumbs-up to express that they are ready to fight. Fast forward to the present—with 10.5 billion minutes wasted on Facebook per day, a thumbs up is now synonymous to ‘like,’ which is commonly used whenever a meme speaks to the soul. Other icons fairly similar to the thumbs up symbol are: